Winter Days
by bigplrbear
Summary: *Currently in progress* A complete re-working of the anime 'School Days', taking place in the United States instead of Japan.
1. Foreward

**Foreward**

When the anime _School Days_ first came out in 2007, I was a 16 year old high school student who had just "graduated" from watching "mainstream", Americanized anime- _Pokemon_, _Yu-Gi-Oh_, _Naruto_, etc. Some of the first anime series' that I watched outside of this "mainstream" category was _Full Metal Panic!_ and its spinoff, _Fumoffu!_\- to this day these series', as well as _Full Metal Panic!_ _The Second Raid_, remains one of my favorites.

I first heard about _School Days_ on the then still somewhat obscure internet forum - I was an avid reader of the /a/ ("anime") and /c/ ("cute anime") boards, and an occasional contributer. I stumbled upon a thread talking about the "nice boat"- a video that was played on Japanese television in lieu of the final episode of _School Days_. Apparently, someone in real life was killed in a similar vein as the main character in the anime, so the last episode was censored on its initial play. So instead of the last episode, Japanese TV played a video of a nice looking yacht floating down a pretty river with classical music playing in the background for the entire 30 minutes that the episode was supposed to air.

At the time, I had never heard of an anime, or any other TV show for that matter, that was censored so bluntly- usually when a television or cinema showing is censored, they cut certain scenes out, or dub over the characters to make it seem like something else is happening instead. In the United States, this censorship happened to Japanese anime back in the 1980s and 1990s with frightening regularity, from little things such as the "donuts" in _Pokemon_ that were actually rice patties, to cutting the hell out of the showing and dubbing over everything to completely change the topic and purpose of it, as what happened to several Studio Ghibli films when they showed in the United States in the 1980s; all of this in the name of making anime appeal to a "mainstream" audience.

This blatant censorship enamored me, and shortly after reading through the 4chan thread regarding the "nice boat", I endeavored to find this anime and immerse myself in all of its glory; for, how can such a heavily censored anime possibly be bad? Obviously, they pissed somebody off so much that it got censored- somebody _really_ didn't want it showed on television, and the thought of that excited me- as if I was watching something that I wasn't supposed to see. Something that most people will never be able to get to see in their lifetime. But me? I'm one of the lucky ones- I have the opportunity- no, the _privilege- _of staring censorship right in the face and telling it "fuck you!".

Well, those feelings didn't last very long- I later learned that the final episode of _School Days_ wasn't necessarily censored- it was just delayed. I also had other priorities over watching some anime- namely, a joint and a pint or two at a friends house. Or three. Or four. I don't remember.

Other things were happening too, of course- I was delving deeper in to the rabbit hole of the internet, moderating 4chans "/c/" forum for a short time, then moderating other, similar forums on other websites of varying lewdness, as well as calling random places and asking for _Battletoads_; however, I still found ways to keep up on some of the latest anime- the rise of _Lucky Star, _the epic guitar playing in _K-On_, and who can forget about the bad-assiness that is... _Moe-tan..._? Yes, the phenomenon known as "_moe_" had taken the anime world by storm, and unfortunately, I wouldn't see its demise until about 2012 or 2013. I've never been a big fan of _moe_\- actually, I'm probably being too nice by saying it that way. Anyways, the closest equivalent that appeals to me would be "_pre-moe moe_" anime such as _Minami-ke _and _Azumanga Daioh_. Only thing is, those anime are actually funny, in a funny way, instead of funny in a... not funny way (As an aside, I personally think that my kids are going to end up exactly like the Minami sisters- my wife simply shakes her head at that assumption).

Anyways, I had completely forgot about _School Days_ until 2009, when I was a senior in high school. I was getting ready to wipe my computer clean and install a fresh copy of the then brand new Windows 7- Windows Vista was a total disaster that I didn't want on my PC, so I was still running Windows XP. While going through some old files and browser history on my computer, I found some old searches pertaining to _School Days_. I decided to sit through a few episodes and see how things work out. Good thing I decided to do this on the weekend, because by the time I was finished, it was already 5 in the morning! I had burned through all 12 episodes in one sitting, something I had never done with any other anime before. _School Days _had turned me in to something that I never dreamed of being- an honest to god anime otaku.

Ever since the blossoming of my otaku spirit, I have always recommended _School Days _(as well as another excellent anime known as _Boku No Pico- _if you're an anime newbie, I highly recommend it) to others as a kind of rite of passage- if you can stand to watch this, in my eyes at least, you are an honest to god otaku.

It is, to me at least, _School Days_ is the perfect example of a parody of the "_harem_" genre of anime. To those of you who don't know, the "_harem_" genre generally consists of one completely useless and utterly stupid male who, for some ungodly reason, attracts multiple, attractive women, with each one generally representing one of the many personality stereotypes that exist in anime. For example, there's always a "_tsundere_"- someone who pretends to dislike, or even hate, the person that he or she actually loves in secret. Think Helga from _Hey Arnold!_. Then there's the polar opposite- a "_yandere_"- someone who's completely and utterly obsessed with the main character, sometimes to the point of kidnapping or even harming the main character in order to prevent others from getting him/her. Then there are others that are usually somewhere in the middle, including the classic "best friends since elementary school", the "true ending girl", the "jock", et-cetera et-cetera.

Anime of the "_harem_" genre have a tendency to be really crappy romantic comedies, although there are some pretty good ones out there such as _Bakemonogatari_ (a combination of harem and black comedy) and _Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun _(a pretty funny "_reverse harem_", where the main character is a clueless girl, and she attracts guys). The main reason for this is what I like to call the "Golden Rule of Harems"- the main character never gets with, much less has sex with, any of the characters. Ever. If they did, then it couldn't get broadcast on primetime television- despite what many people in the United States think, Japan is still very conservative when it comes to public displays of affection- so much so that an anime could lose its primetime TV running over two characters _kissing and holding hands_. Thus, the producers of these anime choose to make them in to crappy, repetitive, generic romantic comedies. As far as I know, there is only one anime that breaks this Golden Rule of harems, and that is _School Days_.

For an anime that dared to break the rules, however, _School Days_ isn't nearly as ground-breaking as it could have been. School Days is missing many key components of what makes a good story great- character development chief among them. For a long time, I yearned to see an expanded version of School Days, one with proper character development, better artwork and, yes, a darker, bleaker outlook towards the end. Darker than what the original anime did. I wanted something that started off as a Seth Rogan movie and ended like _Clannad After Story_. I was excited when the english translation of the School Days PC game came out, but was disappointed after finding out that the game has the same story problems as the anime. That's not to discount the game, of course- each ending is just as epic as the last- but the game disappointed me on a fundamental level. The manga was a little bit better, but still not _long_ enough, not _deep_ enough, not _dark_ enough and not _funny_ enough.

After procrastinating about for over a year, I have finally decided to sit down and re-work School Days from scratch. I think about it this way- what if HBO, or Showtime, or AMC (okay, _probably_ not AMC) decided to do a live action version of _School Days_? What if, instead of in Japan, the story took place in the United States? What if the main characters were college students instead of high school students? What if... well, if I say any more, I'll spoil it.

If you read all of that, thanks. If you didn't, well, at least you're here right? Just don't ask me when the next chapter will come out- it'll come out whenever I'm done typing it up. Now if you'll excuse me, 3/4 of the airbags on my semi-trailer just blew up on the freeway, my brakes are locked up, my tires are smoking up and I'm in the middle of nowhere in freaking Kansas. Why doesn't this shit ever happen near civilization? Seriously, if I'm going to be stuck somewhere for several days waiting on repairs, I'd like to have some freaking LTE!

9/27/14


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Two young men are sitting on a dusty, raggedy couch in an equally dusty and raggedy apartment. In front of them is a coffee table with a turn table on it. There's a record spinning on the turn table- the worn out label on it barely reads "It was a good day". As the music cracks and pops along, one of the men starts talking. "You know how fuckin' hard it was to find this record?" he said. The other man replies "dude, shoosh I'm listening to the song". Silence descended upon the room for a short time. Then, the first man continues: "It took me six freaking months to find this single on vinyl, and man you can sure feel the emotion and feeling a whole helluvalot better than on a-", "dude, shut the fuck up" the second man interjects. The first man pouts and lets out a long, quiet sigh. He then continues: "Finally I found this fuckin' thing at some old rich guys estate sale down in Los Gatos! Who da thunk it!?". The second man slams his fist on the coffee table, causing the record to skip. "Whoa man!", the first man says, "calm down! You're gonna fuck up my record!". "I told you to shut up man, and now you've ruined my mood!" the second man said. The first man sat there, absolutely flabbergasted. He then got very close to the second mans ear, and whispered in to it in the sexiest voice he could conjure- "I can get you back in the mood if you want". The second man jumped back as the first man rolled off the couch, laughing. "Oh shit! shit shit shit shit shit!" yelled the second man. "Dude, Rob what happened!?" the first man said. "I dropped the fucking joint!" said Robert. "Fuck man put it out! Get some water!" said the first man. "Sam, grab the bong and pour that shit on it!" Rob exclaimed. Sam quickly jumped from the floor, and in one swift move, grabbed the bong and poured its smelly contents on to the smoking joint that had fallen on the carpet. The two of them then collapsed on the couch, breathing a sigh of relief.

No sooner had Robert began lighting the next joint did a blaring ring come from his pants. "Oh, hold on a sec", he said as he reached in to his pocket to grab his phone. He turned on the screen and read the message- "Reminder- class 10am". He then checked the time- 9am. "ah shit dude, I've gotta go to class" he told Sam. "Damn dude, why didn't you set up your classes to be in the afternoon and evening! We totally could've gotten in to the same classes!" Samuel complained. "Whatever man, more for me", he quipped as he swiped the joint from Roberts hand and lit it up. After a split second of bewilderment, Robert got up, dusted himself off somewhat and grabbed his backpack. "I'll hit you up tonight some time" he said as he left the apartment.

_Of course_, it was a hot and dry autumn day- _when was the last time we even got any rain? _Robert couldn't remember._ Six months ago? Yeah, something like that._ Every day it seems, California becomes hotter and drier- it bugged Robert somewhat, but usually only in the very back of his mind; As the THC left his body, however, the thoughts forcefully moved themselves forward, as if a foreign army were invading his mind. _One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight cracks in this section of sidewalk. Don't step on one! Step on a crack and you break your mothers crack you moron! How far am I from the light rail? Five blocks? Nope, nevermind- four blocks. I think? "_Ugghh, it's stuff like this why I hate being sober! No not the thoughts themselves, but the very _fact_ that I'm thinking!" he said under his breath. _Oh shit, do I have my Clipper card with me?_ Robert stops dead in his tracks and pulls out his wallet. _ID card, bank card, credit card, Clipper card. Good. _After breathing a sigh of relief, Robert continues down the street to the Light Rail station, takes a seat on the platform, and lights up a cigarette as he waits for his ride.

After what seems like hours, the train pulls up and announces "Alum Rock" in a satisfying tone. Robert lets out a short sigh as he puts out his cigarette and gets on board. As he takes a seat, he digs in to his pockets to find a tube of chap-stick, which he vigorously applies to his lips. Seemingly satisfied, he sits back, dons his head phones, and blasts _Pantera _as the doors close.

Then, out of nowhere the train slams on its brakes, causing Robert to hit his head on the seat in front of him. Something started honking its horn, over and over, giving Robert a headache. Was it a car? A truck? The train maybe? Holding his head, he slowly turns to the window next to him- a car, with an angry driver nonetheless- was not five feet away from him Turns out, a car drove right in front of the train in the middle of a busy intersection. The irate driver was still laying on his horn when the train began moving again. "Good thing he didn't hit us" Robert said out loud. A few people in the train nervously laughed in response. With a shaky hand, Robert pulled out his Chap-stick, and put some more on his lips.

Now somewhat relaxed, Robert decided to remove his headphones and watch out the window as the train chugged along. Every few minutes, the train would stop at a station, and it seemed that the entire train would run outside, only for the entire population to be replaced by new people moments later. _Well, it _is_ rush hour. I wonder how many people are getting on and off at these stops? A hundred? A thousand? _Robert caught himself unconsciously counting the number of people getting on and off the train at the next stop. _If I keep doing this, someone's going to think I'm a terrorist or something. I need to focus on something else... _

That is when he heard the most beautiful voice in the world yell "Wait!". Robert looked up to see a young hispanic woman run on to the train. She kneeled down for a moment to catch her breath, and when she stood back up, he saw her eyes- beautiful amber colored eyes- juxtaposed with her gleaming, long, black hair. As she walked towards a seat, he looked away- don't want to be _too_ obvious now do we? _Who is she? Where is she going? _She seemed so familiar, and yet, he's certain that he didn't know her. She took a seat, donned some headphones and pulled out a book. Robert proceeded to do the same- minus the book of course. The doors closed, and the train continued chugging along.

After what seemed like ages, the train finally made the announcement that Robert had been waiting for- "Paseo De San Antonio". Robert quickly grabbed his backpack and jumped out of his seat- as he was bolting for the door, he noticed the hispanic woman slowly get up and walk towards the door herself. _Where is she going? Should I wait for her? Introduce myself?_ "nah" Robert said under his breath. Besides, he was already late for class! It was 10:15am- why didn't he take an earlier train? Faster than a speeding bullet, Robert made his way across the street and to the campus that lay between him and his classroom. He bolted across the campus, and out of breath, barely made it to his class- at 10:25am. Crap. "Have a seat " said the teacher. Robert looked around for a seat, but one was eluding him- except for one seat way in the back corner. _Of course I get the shitty seat. _Embarrassed by his tardiness, he slowly made his way to the corner seat and sat down. "How many times are you going to be late to this class Robert?" whispered the red faced woman next to him. "Seriously, one of these days is just going to say 'to hell with it' and kick you out!". "I'm sorry Whitney, I slept in late" replied Robert. _Why do I always end up next her?_ "I was up late last night stu-"; interrupted with a loud, obnoxious cough, "Are you done? Yes? Okay, good. Now then...". "Have you been studying for the test at all?", she whispered. "No... not really..." Robert said. Another loud, obnoxious cough permeated through the room. Whitney let out a long sigh, pulled out her notebook, and opened it up. "So, you've got a crush on Amber?" she wrote in the corner of the page. With a confused face, Robert replied "Who's that?". "That girl, on the train" wrote Whitney, "the one that almost didn't make it on. Her name is Amber. I saw the way you were looking at her. You think she's cute huh?". Robert paused for a moment, then wrote "How did you know about that?". "I ride the same train silly", Whitney replied. "No you don't- I never see you!" Robert wrote. "I live closer to downtown. I was also sitting in the front. You didn't see me because you're slow. You really need to quit smoking". Whitney wrote. She tapped Robert on the shoulder and stuck her tongue out at him. "Okay, maybe I do think she's cute" Robert wrote, "How do you know her?". "We have study hall together this afternoon" Whitney replied. "I can talk to her and set you up on a date?". Robert shot up- "whaaaaaaattt!?". "Is there anything I can help you with ?" said. The whole class stared at Robert- "uhhh no, sorry!" he said as he sat back down in his seat. "Maybe you should be writing class notes instead of love notes to your girlfriend, " quipped. The entire class chuckled. Embarrassed, Robert said "Sorry! It won't happen again!". "Sure it won't" replied, "Just make sure you've got your homework assignment turned in on time. Now! Back to the lesson!".

"I'll talk to her in class later today. Can I have your number?" Whitney wrote on the paper. Robert looked at Whitney and shook his head. "Pleeeeaaaaaasssseeeee" She whispered. "Fine!" Robert said under his breath. He wrote his phone number down on the paper. "I'll send you an update in a text later" she whispered to him. Robert nodded begrudgingly.

The rest of ' class was the normal, boring event it always was- even back in Roberts junior year in high school, where was one of his teachers, it was dull. Sleep-inducing, even. _What am I doing here?_, Robert wondered. _Why am I in college?_ Sam's here to become a computer engineer. Whitney's here to become an english teacher. Two weeks in to his freshman year in college, Robert has yet to pick something to major in. "It will come in time". That's what his mom said right before he left home. _What if that 'it' is 'nothing'? Maybe I should drop out... _Robert reached in to his pocket, pulled out his Chap-stick and applied some to his lips. _Much better. _He then begins taking class notes. Then, suddenly, the bell rings- class is over.

As soon as the bell rang, Whitney jumped out of her chair and proclaimed "Don't worry Rob! I'll help you out!". _Ughh... She's such a loud person. _Robert let out a firm nod. She then bolted across the classroom and out the door, almost hitting Sam on her way out. "Whoa! Easy there pretty lady!" he said. Sam then walked up to Robert and whispered in his ear, "So, have you fucked her yet?". "What?", Robert replied, "her? Fuck no! Why would I? I've only known her for a couple of weeks!". "That never stopped me!" quipped Sam, "It's high time that you have graduated to man hood me laddie!". Sam slapped Robert in the back. "You're implying you've gotten any" Robert replied. "2D doesn't count". "Hey! That's not nice!" Sam said as he pulled out an anime figurine. "It's okay Mikuru, he didn't mean that. Shhhh there ya go.". Sam slowly put the figurine back in to his pocket. "Dude, you're fucking weird" Robert said. "Oh contrare, who's the one with no hobbies here?" Sam quipped. "That's not a hobby you have there Sam, that's sick. It's not normal" Robert replied. "Anyways, I've gotta get to my next class. I'll hit you up later alright?". "Yeah, for sure man" Sam said. The two of them shook hands, and made their way to their respective classes.

Whitney took a seat towards the front of the class, and pulled out her notebook, pretending to take notes. She then turned to the person to her left. "Are you Amber?" Whitney asked. The young hispanic woman looked up at Whitney, then looked back down at the immense amount of paperwork on her desk. "Yes, I'm Amber" she said. "Can I help you?". "What's with all of that paperwork?" Whitney asked. "Oh, this is all just stuff for the student council. I'm the student council president so I always have a lot of work to do..." she sighed. A tall, thin woman walked up to the both of them, seemingly out of nowhere- "Hey, what are you doing!? Are you goofing off again? You always goof off. I need you to get this stuff approved NOW". Amber looked down at her paperwork, and said "I'll get it done as soon as I'm able to, Brittany". "What!? Hey you don't need to take that!" Whitney said. She turned to Brittany- "Why are you being so pushy? Don't you have other things to do than harass people?". Brittany looked at Whitney for a moment, let out a loud "hmph!" and walked towards the back of the class. "You better get it done Amber or else I'm reporting you to the school administrators!" she said taking a seat near a few other women.

"Th-thank you" Amber said in a shaky voice. "That Brittany is a real bitch..." said Whitney, "My name's Whitney, and I've got something important to talk to you about. Do you have a minute?". Amber shook her head. "Where you on the Alum Rock train this morning? Was it you who was almost late on the Milpitas stop?" asked Whitney. Amber shook her head- "yes, I woke up late this morning... I was up late last night doing paperwork for the student council... I almost didn't make it to the train...". "A friend of mine noticed that you were almost late on the train" Whitney quipped, "they wanted to help but they were too embarrassed...". "Why were they embarrassed?" Amber asked. "Well... there's no really good way of saying it so I'll just say it straight out- they think you're cute". Amber dropped her pencil. "Th-they think I'm c-c-c-cute!?" she said. "How? Why? I don't understand...". "My friends name is Robert Fargo. Do you know him?" Whitney asked. Amber sat there for a moment, thinking. "Robert Fargo from class?" she asked. "Yeah! So you do know him?" Whitney said. "Yeah... I do..." Ambers voice trailed off. There was silence for a short time. "Hey, do you wanna go outside after class and get some fresh air?" Whitney asked. "Sure" said Amber.

After class, the two of them walked out of the classroom and outside of the building. "Follow me" Whitney said as she snaked around to the back of the building. She uncovered the bottom part of an escape ladder behind a bush. "We're gonna go to my secret spot" she said. "ummm... I don't think we're supposed to be going up here" Amber nervously said. "We could get in to some serious trouble". "Oh come on, nobody else knows about it. It's my secret spot! Let's go!" she said as she ascended up the ladder. After contemplating for a short time, Amber decided to follow Whitney to the roof of the building. "Ughh, this city is so flat" Whitney said. "I wish it had more skyscrapers in it like San Francisco. At least then there'd be something to look at". After a short while, Amber managed to shakily climb up to the top. "So why are we up here?" Amber asked. "Well, you said you wanted some fresh air. Here ya go- the least smoggy air that San Jose has to offer" Whitney replied. "So, how do you know Robert?" Whitney inquisitively asked. "Well..." Ambers voice started to shake, "...I've sort of had a crush on him for a while now...". Whitney was genuinely surprised- she had to stop for a minute to think of a reply. "Oh wow!" she said, "so it's a mutual love!". "Yeah" Amber said nervously, "I've always felt that there was someone on the train watching me. At first, I thought it was just my imagination... but then I realized that there actually was someone... Eventually I got more and more interested in him... That person is Robert". Whitney walked over to Amber and grabbed her hands. "Then all you need to do is tell him how you feel" she said.

It's 4:30 in the afternoon, and Robert was starting to get sleepy. He's already smoked half of his pack of cigarettes (and gotten a $50 ticket for doing so. _That would be ticket number three?_). _Just one more class to go until I can go home and chill. _Roberts phone buzzes in his pocket. He pulls it out, and reads the text message he just received:

FROM: (415)996-5555 TIME: 4:32PM

Meet me behind the main building after your last class is over

Robert sends a quick "Kk" in reply, and returns to his "studying". After class, he headed over to the main building to find Whitney standing there with a dissatisfied look on her face and her arms crossed. "I thought your class was over at five!?" she exclaimed. "uhh no" Robert replied, "it's over at six. How did you find out my schedule anyway?". "I have my sources" Whitney quipped. "Come on, let's go to my secret spot".

Once on the rooftop, Whitney got straight to the point- "Turns out that Ambers' had a crush on you for quite a while, you dog!" she said. Robert was flabbergasted. "No way!" he said. Anger boiled inside of him. "How? I don't even know her! Are... are you playing me!?". _I'm fucking sick and tired of people playing me like this. Last time this happened..._ Roberts body reacted automatically and instantaneously. "What are you doing!?" Whitney said. "Stop messing around with me! I'm seriously sick and tired of people fucking around with me like this! Like my life is some game!" Robert yelled. "I'm not messing around with you! This is for real! Now get your hands off of me!" Whitney slapped Roberts hands off of her shoulders and got herself off of the fence. Robert slowly backed off, just realizing what he had done. "I'm sorry... it's just that the last time someone tried 'helping' me, it ended really badly" he said. "It's okay" Whitney said. "Apparently, you two have been taking the same train to school every day for the past two weeks. She's secretly been curious about you- she just doesn't have the guts to say anything! Anyways, I talked to her earlier today and we became buddies- see?" Whitney pulled out her phone- on it, a photo of her and Amber on the rooftop from earlier that day. Robert looked at the photo for a minute, then said "so.. you're serious? Someone actually... likes me?". "Yes!" Whitney said. "I can help you out if you want! What do you think? Can I be your match-maker?". "Why are you doing this for me? I've never done anything for you..." Robert replied. "It's simple- I'm nosy when it comes to relationships. It's like a game- nothing satisfies me more than hooking people up!". "Seriously?" Robert asked. "Yeah, what else could it possibly be?" Whitney replied. "I.. umm..." Robert was at a loss for words. "Thank you" was all he could muster. "Okay! I guess it's settled- you and her are going to have lunch up here tomorrow, so meet us here after your first class okay? Okay bye bye now!" Whitney said as she ran off towards the ladder. Robert didn't even have time to react. _Oh great, now what am I going to do?_ He stood there on the roof for a short time before deciding that it was time to go home.

Whitney ran towards the front gate, where a friend of hers was waiting for her. "Why are you so late?" the young woman asked. "I had a few things I needed to take care of" Whitney replied, "so are we still on for Denny's, Claire?". "Yeah" Claire said as the two of them started walking, "I'm in the mood for a grand slam".

Robert slowly descended down the ladder and walked a couple of blocks over to the light rail station. He takes a seat on the platform, and lights up a cigarette as he waits for his ride. After what seems like hours, the train pulls up and announces "Alum Rock" in a satisfying tone. Robert lets out a short sigh as he puts out his cigarette and gets on board. After counting the number of people on the train so as to find the most efficient spot, he takes a seat and digs in to his pockets to find a tube of chap-stick, which he vigorously applies to his lips. Seemingly satisfied, he sits back, dons his head phones, and blasts _The Offspring _as the doors close.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"**Confession****"**

The next day, despite coming to class early for once, Robert was surprised to find that the only seat available was, once again, in the very back corner, next to you-know-who. Upon taking his seat, Robert was pleasantly surprised that Whitney didn't seem to be in a very talkative mood. As the class began and Mister Gresham began slugging on about... _wait, what class is this again? Whatever. _About halfway through class, Whitney stopped taking notes, and pulled out her "Special" notebook. She opened it up, wrote a message, and passed the notebook along to Robert in the most conspicuous way possible- with a large SMACK right on his desk. _And I thought today was going to be quiet..._

Amazingly, Mister Gresham didn't seem to notice, despite the fact that the rest of the class did. As the eyes of the entire class glared at Robert, he slowly opened the notebook and read the message that Whitney so "discreetly" sent him. "I called Amber last night and got to know her a bit" she wrote. Robert continued to read the message. "She really likes spaghetti" Whitney wrote. Robert pulled out his pen, and scribbled in to the notebook "She's a noodle person?". He then promptly smacked the notebook on Whitney's desk- which again, Mister Gresham didn't seem to notice. Neither did Whitney, because she promptly wrote "Yeah. Also- her boobs are huge!" and smacked the notebook back on to Roberts desk. Robert let out a long sigh. "I noticed" he wrote. Whitney coughed really loud and said "Pervert" under her breath. Another smack signaled the return of the notebook. "So, what did you make Amber? For lunch?" Whitney wrote. "What?" Robert whispered. "I was serious about you two having lunch today!" Whitney said under her breath. As if on cue, Robert unconsciously yelled out "WHAAAATT!?", attracting the everlasting glare of his teacher. "Oh, Mister Fargo, willing to take on my wrath for the second day in a row, are we?" Mister Gresham called out. "Sorry!" Robert chirped as he put his head in his arms. "Oh yeah, STOP SMACKING YOUR NOTEBOOK ON YOUR DESK" Mister Gresham added. To add insult to injury, Whitney replied in the notebook "Yeah seriously, You've gotta stop doing that"- with just a small tap this time.

As soon as the bell rang, Whitney grabbed Roberts arm and pulled him out of his seat as she vehemently proclaimed "Let's go!". "Hey! What are you doing!? Let go of me!" Robert yelled as Whitney drug him outside to the back of the main building. At the foot of the emergency fire escape, Whitney dropped him like a hot potato. With a grin a mile wide, she said "Go- your date awaits!". "What!? I didn't even ask for this!" Robert said in a forced whisper. "Why did you...? ughh! Fine! But you've gotta come up with me" he said. "What, you're not man enough to go up there on your own?" Whitney asked. In a whiny, sarcastic voice, Robert replied "But I need a confidence boost" as he stuck his tongue out. "Ughh, fine I'll go up there with you" Whitney whispered. "But you go up first". Robert let out a small sigh, grabbed the ladder and almost started making his way up when Whitney tapped his leg. "I almost forgot! I need to provide you with insurance" she said. Whitney grabbed Roberts bag and stuffed something in it. "What did you put in there?" Robert asked. "Two bottles of tea- she's a really big tea drinker" Whitney whispered. "When you get up there, offer her the green tea". "Oh! What kind of tea did you get me?" he asked. "You? Just regular black tea" Whitney stuck her tongue out. "Oh alright" Robert said as he started making his way back up the ladder.

Upon getting to the rooftop, Roberts hands start to shake. _Am I actually nervous? I can't possibly be- I don't even know this girl! No, it must be something else... _Robert dug in to his pockets to find a tube of chap-stick, which he vigorously applied to his lips. After a moment, his shaking stops, and he notices a beautiful sight before him- a short, young woman with crisp, amber colored eyes that seemed to penetrate his very soul. Her petite frame didn't seem to match up with her..."size". After a moment of silence, she managed to stammer out an introduction.

"umm.. uhh... I-i-i'm A-a-amber. A-are you R-r-r...". "Umm... yes, I'm Robert, but you can call me Rob" Robert said a little nervously just as Whitney managed to make her way up the ladder. "Oh! Whitney!" Amber exclaimed, "I never really thanked you for yesterday". "Oh, it's no prob-lame-o" Whitney said. "Have you two been acquainted?" she asked. "umm... yeah we have..." Amber said in a nervous tone. The awkward silence just about killed Whitney. "Okay seriously guys? This isn't some marriage interview! Let's have some lunch! Come on, I'll show you two where the bench is" she said as she pulled out a sandwich from her bag and started walking towards the front of the building. "Yeah, okay" Amber said as she headed towards the same direction.

Robert grabbed his bag and followed the two of them to a somewhat secluded corner with a concrete wall around it. _Whoa, there really IS a bench up here. _Amber sat down on the bench and pulled out her lunch- a chicken sandwich. She reached in to her bag to grab something else... but the other object eluded her. "That's weird..." she said. "I thought I had something to drink in here...". Whitney, who decided to sit on the ground near the bench, looked towards Robert and gave a wink. _Did she seriously steal Ambers drink from her bag!? _"Oh, well I heard that you liked green tea... I have one here if you want it" Robert offered. Amber reluctantly accepted the drink. "Th-hank you..." was all that she could muster. "You're not going to eat anything?" Amber asked Robert as he sat down on the bench next to her. Whitney then gave a quick look over to Roberts backpack, which upon inspection held a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. _She even thought of that too!? _After pulling out the sandwich, Robert coolly sat down on the bench next to Amber and started chowing down. He was really hungry, since he hadn't eaten anything all day- but that hunger soon became his downfall when he started choking on a piece of the sandwich. "Robert!" Whitney yelled as Amber quickly got up, got behind him and pressed on Roberts abdomen several times, causing him to expel the offending piece of sandwich. "Are you okay!?" Amber worryingly asked. Gasping for air, Robert croaked out a "thank you" and leaned back on the bench. "thank goodness you're alright" Amber said while she started rubbing Roberts back. Whitney sighed a breath of relief and said "Well, I've gotta go use the bathroom. I'll be back" as she got up and left the rooftop.

Several minutes passed by, each one filled with deafening silence. Roberts legs began to shake as boredom set in. Finally, Amber decided to break the ice- "So... you seem like you're an interesting person" she said. "Really?", Robert asked, "What kind of person did you think I was going to be?". "Well, I was sort of expecting you to be a bit... calmer, I think" Amber replied. "Usually I'm a lot calmer than this" Robert said, "But today is... well..." Robert sighed. "I guess today is special". "Special?" Amber asked. "How so?". "Well... I'm here and you're here and Whitney's... wait, why is she taking so long in the bathroom? Anyways..." Robert trailed off. Amber chuckled, "You're a little bit different than what Whitney told me". "Is that a bad thing?" Robert asked. "Oh no! Absolutely not" Amber nervously chuckled. _Wow, she __**is**__ pretty cute. Maybe going out with her won't be such a bad thing after all?_

Whitney never returned. At the end of the day, Amber and Robert both said their good-byes, and climbed down the escape ladder to the ground below. While Amber walked a couple of blocks to the nearest light rail station, Robert decided to walk to the Santa Clara light rail station, a bit further up the line. Upon arriving at the station, Robert takes a seat on the platform, and lights up a cigarette as he waits for his ride. He skips the first "Alum Rock" train, choosing instead to smoke another cigarette while he waits for the next one. After what seems like hours, the next "Alum Rock" train pulls up and Robert gets on. After counting the number of people on the train so as to find the most efficient spot, he takes a seat and digs in to his pockets to find a tube of chap-stick, which he vigorously applies to his lips. Seemingly satisfied, he sits back, dons his head phones, and hits the "random" button on his mp3 player.

Robert arrived at his small, cramped apartment around 10pm that night. He tossed his backpack on the floor near the door, pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, and dialed Sams phone number in one hand while grabbing for a pre-rolled joint and a lighter in the other.

After what seemed like forever, Sam finally answered. "Hey, whats up man?". "Not much, just got back to my place" Robert said in between lighting up his joint, "Whats up with you?". "Dude what!? What took you so long to get back home!?". There was silence for a few seconds, and then suddenly, Sams tone became much more serious. "Did you get laid?" he asked. "Did you finally get laid!? I'm so proud of you son!" he said in a more sarcastic tone. "Yeah man, your mom was great" Robert replied. "Aww dude... seriously? Oh well, at least you've got good taste" Sam quipped. "Dude you're fucking weird" Robert said. Sam laughed "It's all part of my job _good buddy. _Anyways, you wanna come over? I've got some more pot and some new tunes".Robert thought for a minute. "Nah man, I've got homework to do and I've gotta be at school hella early" he said. Sam was flabbergasted "wait a second- you're actually taking school seriously now? Holy shit dude, that's news to me. There's gotta be a lady in your life! Who is it?". "Nobody, I'm still single" Robert said. "I've gotta go right now man, if I don't see ya tomorrow I'll hit you up". "Right on man, have a good one" Sam said right before he hung up.

Robert put out his joint, and collapsed on to his bed; He stared at the rock posters on the ceiling of his room- The Offspring, Meat Puppets, Disturbed, etc.- pondering about calling up Whitney- to ask her, why is she "helping" him so much, despite the fact that he didn't want it or need it? To ask her, why Amber, of all people? He didn't want or need to be hooked up with a girlfriend- he can barely afford rent as it is, and he doesn't even have money for a car! _I don't know what I'm going to do... _

A coin lay beside the burnt joint on Roberts bedside table. He grabbed it, and stared at it for a short time._ I'll flip a coin about it- Heads, I ask her out. Tails, I don't. _As Robert flipped the coin, a sense of dread came about him; a short vision, unclear at first. As the vision came in to view, a beach was visible- the strong waves crashing in to the shoreline. It was cold, and raining; he was curled up in a ball, unable to move. The pain was intense- he'd never felt anything like it before. Suddenly, a thought- _The rain will keep the fog away. _

The next morning, Robert awoke with the worst headache he had in months. He slowly got up from his bed, and nearly slipped on a pile of puke that was on the floor next to him. _God damn it. _He grabbed a rag from the kitchenette, and cleaned up his mess. Underneath the pile of puke that he was cleaning, he found a coin- the same coin he was flipping the night before. He slowly wiped it off, and gave a small sigh at the sight the he was beholden to- the coin had landed on heads.

After cleaning up his mess, Robert headed to the bathroom, took a shower and got himself ready to go to school. By the time everything was done, it was 6am- he couldn't even remember the last time he was up this early. _Might as well get to the Milpitas light rail stop early, and wait for Amber there, I guess. _Robert put on an extra spray of cologne before grabbing his backpack and walking out the door.

Robert gets to the light rail station, takes a seat on the platform, and lights up a cigarette as he waits for his ride. After what seems like hours, the train pulls up and announces "Alum Rock". Robert lets out a short sigh as he puts out his cigarette and gets on board. After choosing his seat, he digs in to his pockets to find a tube of chap-stick, which he vigorously applies to his lips; But something isn't right. As the train leaves the station, Robert realizes that he forgot something- something very important. It seems to take hours for the train to reach the intersection at Alum Rock Ave and Capitol, despite the fact that the stoplight is not even a 2 minute walk from the station. Robert feels dizzy and sick to his stomach. _It must be nerves. I can get through the day just fine without this. _The train continues past the intersection, and somehow ends up at the Milpitas station right after. _That was quick. _As Robert collects his things and walks off of the train, he pulls another cigarette out of his pocket, and lights it.

As hundreds of people pour in and out of the giant, flat mall and transit center behind him, one person sticks out in the crowd- Amber, wearing a large, fluffy coat and skinny jeans, carrying a backpack that seems to be nearly as big as she is. Robert got up, and flicked his cigarette over the wall. He called to her. "Amber!". Amber looked up, and ran up to him. "G..good morning!" she managed to say in between breaths. "Are you heading to school too? What are you doing here?". "There's actually something I need to talk to you about", said Robert.

That afternoon, Whitney walked in to her scheduled study hall class to find Amber sitting by herself towards the back, staring at the paperwork that she still had to complete. She slid in to the seat next to Amber, and asked her "what's wrong?". Amber popped her head up and said "Robert asked me out...". "Wow, that was quick! You just met him yesterday!" Whitney said. "I... gave my okay" Amber replied. "oh..." Whitney looked slightly down, and then popped back up "that's good!". "Yeah, when he confessed to me this morning, I was really happy. I'm very grateful to you". Amber continued, "I mean, you brought us together, didn't you? If you hadn't, then none of this would have happened.". "Well, wishes can't be granted by just thinking about them" Whitney said, "you've gotta take action! That's what I told Robert the other day".Whitney continued "He's a really nice guy, and I think you two could make a great couple. Good luck!". "Thanks!" Amber replied.

After her class was over, Whitney walked over to the Paseo De San Antonio station to wait for the light rail train to show up. When she got there, she found Robert smoking a cigarette on a bench, also waiting for the train."Are you waiting for Amber?", Whitney asked. Robert looked up. "Yeah", he said, "I guess she's got a student council meeting and she's going to be late". "I know, I talked to her earlier", Amber changed her tone to a sarcastic one. "Here's a tip when dealing with women- don't just rush in and do anything perverted. You've gotta warm things up first, ya know? Especially with someone fragile like Amber". "Yeah, yeah I know better than to do that" Robert said. "If you're trying to keep me company, I don't need it". "I live on this line" Whitney said. Robert was surprised "No way! I never see you on the train". "Unlike you, I can take either the 901 or 902 trains. Besides, even when we do take the same train you never notice. You're too slow. Didn't I already tell you this the other day?" Whitney said. "uhh... yeah, I guess you did..." Robert mumbled.

"Whitney, why are you doing this for me?" Robert asked. "Didn't I already tell you?" Whitney said, "Because it's fun! I enjoy hooking people up. There's nothing more interesting than watching other couples' love". "Really?" Robert asked. Whitney took a deep breath. "You know those soaps that have all of that love and drama and romance? They're able to push their world in the right direction with their own hands. Get it?". "Kinda" Robert said. "I have a bad feeling that you're going to expect something in return for this". "Oh yeah, you owe me" Whitney said, "you owe me so much, you're going to be spending the rest of your life paying me back!"."Really?" Robert asked. "well, I guess I'd better get started on paying you back then". Whitney started walking around, "hmm... I wonder where you can start..." she pondered. "Oh! I have an idea", she said as the light rail train pulled up to the platform. Whitney then walked up to Robert, looked him straight in the eyes, and kissed him. "Consider your debt repaid" she said.

The train doors opened as a speaker blared "Mountain View". Whitney quickly jumped back, and ran in to the train. "Good luck on your next date!" she yelled as the doors slowly closed behind her. As the train began its journey, Whitney picked a spot, and slowly sunk in to her seat. She stared out of the window, and began to cry.


End file.
